Conor McCarthy: Advantage Kerry after predictable day

You learn nothing by talking. You learn through asking questions. This quote is attributed to Lou Holtz, the former college basketball analyst and coach.

On a predictable day in the Munster championship, both Cork and Kerry won in a manner each side was generally expected to. Let’s be honest, there were no retrospective talking points of note. We must therefore look to the questions each side was asked. Who was asked the searching questions — Cork or Kerry? Who learned more? Clearly the answer is Kerry.

A decent challenge from Tipp in an away game will have been of undeniable benefit to the All-Ireland champions. A comparably weaker effort from Clare in Páirc Uí Rinn will not have allowed Cork to discover anything significant over and above what they already know.

This time last year, we wondered would Kerry be happy to sacrifice style for substance and put a blanket in front of Cork’s full-forward line threat. Turns out the Kingdom had no qualms about such pragmatism.

Yesterday Tipperary asked the All-Ireland champions if they could still smother a team who gets a run on them. Turns out Kerry are as pragmatic as ever with 15 men behind the ball as early as the 10th minute in Thurles to stave off that initial Tipperary burst.

The return to play of Colm Cooper and James O’Donoghue is a godsend for them. The fact that these players were required to operate at credible championship pace is manna from heaven.

It was a return to form for Bryan Sheehan at midfield, a man who was keeping David Moran out of the Kerry team last year until injury sidelined him at the quarter-final stage.

Other All Stars who were blooded from the bench for Kerry yesterday included Tommy Walsh, Darran O’Sullivan, and Aidan O’Mahony. Another sub introduced was Donnacha Walsh, a player who the All Star selectors have inexplicably forgotten about. All of these guys will now be vying for a spot in the Munster final team.

Visible competition for places and a kick from Tipp was exactly what Eamonn Fitzmaurice would have wanted in attempting to steel Kerry from the complacency that can, on rare occasions, creep into their home games in Killarney.

In comparison, what education can Cork take from the questions they were asked in their comfortable 12-point win over Clare?

Not a whole lot apart from the fact that a blanket defence is something the Rebels still need to refine if they are to employ such a tactic going forward. Clare got in for four, arguably five clear-cut goal chances yesterday at Páirc Uí Rinn.

The point of discovery must be that numbers in defence does not equal a defensive strategy. On three occasions when Cork appeared reasonably well set-up to defend with numbers, Clare were able to penetrate the mass of Cork bodies with some strong runners and slick hand-passing.

As has been the case in the past with this Cork team, getting players to take responsibility for the man and not the space remains the challenge.

What will each side have learned about each other? Kerry will appreciate the tidy class of Stephen Cronin. He looked impressive on his championship debut and the ideal man to dispatch on to, say, Ryan McHugh or Alan Dillon later in the summer. Through no fault of his own, however, his height could result in a mismatch in Killarney. Kerry are past masters at exploiting such potential.

A simple example: If Michael Shields takes off with the ball from full back as speedily and as impressively as he did on occasions yesterday, Donaghy would simply summon Cronin’s man to do the tracking back while the Kerry captain would drift (off camera) across onto the Nemo man.

Any breakdown in that Cork play and the ball would be sent ‘route one’ back into the Cork square for an uneven contest. Paul Geaney employed a similar trick in the first minute of last year’s All-Ireland final.

If Cork had more resources, you would hope that Alan O’Connor could be reserved for the impact from the bench that Cork will inevitably need in the Munster final. He is an ideal fit for that role insofar as he has a brilliantly uncompromising mentality.

What’s more, the Cork fans really connect with his aggression when he is unleashed. A lack of high fielders in the current squad means this is a luxury Cork cannot afford. He will start in Killarney as he will be needed from the off.

Kerry didn’t need yesterday’s greater test to install them as favourites to beat Cork in three weeks. The fact the All-Ireland champions have now answered the more difficult questions makes Cork’s task even more challenging.